The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 18, 1902, Page 11

THE SUNDAY CALL. Americans by a “Pea and Shell” Gam HE nko artist is something new to consider. The American of that flk s unpretentious, abrupt, shifty; his campaign is planned along lim- ited lines and his intended victims are many. A sucker Is born every minute, is his slogan, and following this philosophy he drops an unpromising vic- tim end betakes himself to new flelds, s ardor undampened, his glad hand ex- tended ready to go over his programme again, pinning his faith only to his per- sozal exuberance and the traditional gul- libility of mankind. In other lands, where time is not at such & premium, the type is essentially @ifferent, and from Spain halfls a bunko story that reads like a romance. The vic- tims are usually picked from those in whose veins flows the blood of the haughty Don, but the game has been per- petrated on some Americans as well. BSenor Golderacena, the Spanish Consul &t this port, is dally besieged by persons who at different stages of nibbling at the tempting looking bait come to him with the weighty and legal looking documents in the dulcet language of Castile for trapsiation. Bome come in the first stages of inquiry and somse are well nigh landed and have their money all ready to send. “It 16 & scheme that should be exposed for the good of the commonwealth,” de- clares Mr. Golderacena, “ for in the last two weeks no less than twenty-five peo- ple bave come to tell me how they have been caught in the net. In all cases the schemes are identical; the letters are du- plicates, differing only in the name which is fnserted to fit each particular case.” They evidently have an old San Fran- cisco directory over in Madrid from which they get the names, for most of the peo- ple have moved from the address on the letter some six or seven years ago. The first letter reads: - My Very Dear Mr. Lopez: . “After years of investigation, I hope I have found a clew to your whereabouts, or 1 feel sure you are the relative for whom I & earched so long. ‘I am con- son in Madrid, being con- for eight years. In former days wag 2 banker in the Canary Islands, g gone wrong, 1 gath- I ecould get together » through America, where ted them in a bank I took an extended tri but when I got back to Spain 1 was ted and finally sentenced to elght years of penal servitude. I am ut business hav ere 1l the 1 compelled ave 1o you the charge of my young (¢ hter; also of my fortune of 75,900 pounds vhich is deposited in & ban in America, and I offer you 2% per cent for your trouble “If you will do me this great favor, ad- dress a cablegram to me as MR. AMBROSIA GON. rrera de Ban Geronimo, “Madrid, “Spain. “I will on receipt of this cablegram send you all instructions. Do not write, as I would mot get the letter anyhow. I,will explain everything in my next. *“(Bigned.) LOUIS DOMINGUEZ LOPEZ.” Fioor 4, <. This sounds good to the American Lo- pez and he cablegrams as per directions, and the hearts of the bunko steerers in Old Madrid are made glad accordingly. The gullible American next gets a letter from Gonzalez, who parades as the man Friday, the servant of the now deceased prisoner. He writes: “MADRID, Spain. “Much Respected Sir: “It is with the greatest sorrow that I must inform you that my employer and your relative, Mr. Louis Dominguez Lo- ez, dled yesterday at 4 p. m. I'am sorry that this, my first letter to you, should be the messenger of such a terrible mis- fortune. “Your relative before dying executed a will and testament in which you are named as the guardian of his daughter and heir to his estate to the extent of % per cent, having left the balance to his aforesald daughter. He honored me by appointing me the executor in his will, giving me the necessary orders that his last wishes might be carried out faith- fully, and which I swore before Jesus Christ, crucified, to carry out to the best of my ability. “It will require a few days in order to prove the will In court, as well as to es- tablish our respective rights, so I will wait until this is over before I send you the will and instructions necessary’to take charge of the estate, which is in Havana. “Recelve the best assurancgs of your faithful and humble servant, “AMBROSIA GONZALEZ.” The American mourns “the loss of his deceased relative, but his nearly incon- solable sorrow is lessened somewhat by the fact that he gets 2 per cent of the estate. s evidence of good faith, the man Fri- sends in a few days a prison certifi- cate stating that Louls Dominguez Lopez was held as prisoner in Madrid and that he died In jail. This certificate is signed by the prison director and the administra- tor of the prison. A copy of the will is also sent on Government paper numbered and stamped and certified to by THOMAS DEL VALLE, Notary Public, Madrid, Spain. (Beal and rubric attached.) The copy of the will is sent to show that all is as represented. The pseudo relative here is appointed guardian of the girl and her inheritance, and the man Friday is, shown to be the lawful executor of the estate. The wide-eyed American congratulates himself on the good luck that has be- fallen him. Any lurking suspicion as to the validity of the documents and the au- thenticity of his late benevolent relative is dissipated by the Government seals on the official papers. He next recelves a copy of the decree which is calculated to set the die already cast. The decree and a long letter in- closed Is sent by the faithful man Friday to the now only remaining one of the kith and kin of his lost master. The decree purports to be a fac simile 2 Most \ Lucrative and Romantic \ of the one issued at the time of his mas. ter's commitment for eight years of penal servitude. The master, however, having died before the settlement and costs of court as set forth in the decree were ar- ranged for. The honest man Friday con- sults with the alleged relative in the let- ter which he sends with the decree. The decree itself is a marvel of seeming auu. thenticity written on legal paper, with all the Insignia and red tape customary in technical matters. Here the crucial moment arrives when the faithful man Friday, though sworn by Christ and him crucified to do his duty, launches forth his scheme boldly to sep- arate the relative from his clinking simo- leons. Here Is a copy of this veraclous- like document: ““The clerk of the special civil tribunal certifies that the third civil tribunal has decreed as follows: That in the case of Louis Dominguez Raymond the testimony before the court showed sald Louis Do- minguez Raymond to be a native of the Canary Islands, 42 years of age and a widower, and that he committed the crime of fraudulent bankruptcy, he at the time beirg a banker in Santa Cruz de Teneriffe. He became bankrupt for two million pesctas. Considering that under the provision of article 47 of the constitution, this tribunal has jurisdic- tion, and considering that under the law as applied under provisions of articles 411 and 412 of the penal code, it is hereby ordered and decreed that Louls Domin- guez Raymond be condemned to elght years’ penal servitude, and that he also pay the sum of 10,350 pesetas and the costs of this proceeding, which amounts to 43756 pesetas, “It is also ordered that If In the period of six months' from date sald Louis Do- , minguez Lopez does not pay the said sum that all his goods and property now in possession of the Government be sold at public auction and the proceeds applied to the satisfaction of said fine. “(Signed.) JOAQUIN FERNANDES, “(Seal of court attached.” With the documents Gonzalez sends a long letter rehearsing the situation in detail and delicately and Jinsinuatingly calls Lopez's attention to the financial requirements as_brought forth In the de- cree. He says In part: “I have the honor to inform you, as per will enclosed, that you have been appoint- ed guardlan of the girl, etc, and I am honored, as you see, by belng appointed executor of the will. “By the decree you see that I am com- pelled to pay the sum of 10,787.66 pesetas, equivalent to $2158, six months from date of sald decree, otherwise the personal ef- fects and property of your relative will be nold at public auction to satisfy the authorities. The six months will be up the 20th day of May. “Your deceased relative, previous to his demise, gave me all of the necessary in- structions about the whereabouts of his oney in America, and as soon as we can get this affair satisfactorily adjusted 1 will go with you and get it. I have spoken to the present guardian of the girl (a non-relative) and have satisfied him that you are the legal guardian. Hfs consent is required’ before you can legally" assume your charge, but he says he will withhold, it until upon payment of $1000, for past services.” . t And then to the tune of $3158 the guilible, one comes to—wakes up .and realizes that 'twas.but an idle dream. Or perchanée heré-reads the letters and documents from Madrid and realizes that Ambrosia Gon- zales of San Geronimo and Louis Domin- guez Lopez of Madrid are characters who had ‘their birth in the ‘mind of a bunko steerer. One over-generous Spaniard had $4000 ready to send to Gonzalez to cover all in- cidents and to pay the servant's way to America. He was advised by a friend to send a cablegram to the Spanish’ Govern- ment first and in this way came to meet the Spanish Consul. He started to tell his story and Goldaracena picked it up and finished it, much to the bunkoed one’s surprise. The Spaniard’s romance was ended, but his eyes were opened and he still had his four thousand. The bunko stunts of the Spanish are al- ways wreathed in romance. Mr. Goldara- cena has an interesting one to tell with a ~ background of castles and buried treas- ure. ;Years ago he received a letter from a man ‘who said that he was confined to Moro Castle. He said that he -had pre- viously been a resident of San Francisco and ‘that he had burfed many thousands of dollars on the outskirts of S8an Fran- cisco, and that sald Goldaracena, he thought, was just the man who could find it. If he would do him the great fa- vor and promise to pay out of this buried treasure the ransom necessary to set the prisoner free, he would see that his bene- factor was well paid for his trouble. Goldaracena wondered what the scheme could be. He read the letter to some of his friends, and they persuaded him to answer the letter as directed and see what would evolve. He was to write to an address in Havana, to a friend of the prisoner’s, who would give him the neces- sary instruction. He wrote and was informed that the trunk containing the entire plan for re- covering the buried treasure had been * held at the Custom-house and would not be given up except upon receipt of $1000. But if Goldaracena would forward the $1000, this friend would get the trunk out andjforward the plan. Another long-lost relative story centers around a mythical trunk held by the au- thorities. It is sald to comtain a-% bottom and In this false bottom are thous sands of dollars in Bank of England notes. If the long lost orie will only for= ward the trifling sum of a few thousand | dollars to get the trunk out, the hidden fortune will be equally dtvided. . ‘Sometimes the easy-one sends the cashh | and of course he hears no more of the trunk. He is usually too ashamed to | tell that he bit at the baited hook and little good it would do if:hé did, for these | professionals know how to burn thefr | bridges after them. But the wily American usually wakes | ‘up from his Spanish romance when bid to | send on a few thousand to Invest in & | trunk he hasn’t seen. The American likes | to see the goods first. When the halo of | romance of this bunko game has disal- pated itself into thin air the Americam | sees the practical bedrock; he figures on the time he spent cabling and writing for that which was naught. Meanwhile in sunny Spain or in the islands of the ses these romance makers balance their profit and"loss account, which shows larger returns for romance than would lters. ture, for although they do not alway wisi, still one inning counts. ISABEL FRASER. Indian Brides at PUbli¢ Auction. HE annual distribution of Comanche Indian brides recently occurred at the . Saddle Mountain Mission, in Southern Oklahoma. Fifty of the prettiest women of the tribe were sold at public auction as the wives of tribesmen who bid them in. This bar- baric custom was to have been discon- tinued by the Comanches last year, but it went on more boldly than ever this sea- son, being conducted under the very eyes of the white settlers. The festival of the Comanche “pony smoke,”” as this ceremony is called, is of more than passing Interest. Seldom are S0 many young squaws auctioned off as was done this year, but the surplus was great and needed thinning out, according to the head men of the tribe. Their par- ents, refusing to keep them any long- er, the girls naturally needed homes somewhere, and it was deemed best by the medicine men to auction them off as wives, the highest bid- ders to take their choice. Big Bow, a monstrous fat and ugly redskin, acted as the auctioneer, He was P2l A assisted by a number of medicine men, who performed the marriage cere- monies after the sales had been made. Five hundred Indians gathered at the Saddle Mountain Mission last week. This mission is located tbirty miles directly south of Mountain View, and on the range ‘of the Wichita Mountains. The girls who were sold had been confined in a lodge for three weeks prior to this meeting, and were well fed and extremely well groomed. They were all clad in gay colors, and their hair arranged in perfect Indian fashion. It was plain to see that their parents had prepared them to bring fancy prices. The girls were in various moods; some hys- terical, others calm, and not a few de- lighted with the experience. Among others was a daughter of the famous Quahnah Parker, the noted Co- manche Indian chief. This daughter, whose name is Amy, had displeased him by attempting to run away and marry a white man, and a cowboy at that, so Par- ker decided that the best thing would be to sell her ‘at auction. This Is the first time Parker, who is counted by his white neighbors a highly cultivated red man, has ever allowed‘any of his relatives to be sacrificed at the auction block. But the wrath of an Indlan parent knows no bounds. ’ Sad and silent, Amy Parker was led to the block for sale. The first bid was eleven ponies. Jack Wild Horse, a well- known scout of the tribe, was the bidder. He was immediately raised by a rival, likewise a scout. This latter claimant bid fifteen. Others then cut )n, and Miss Parker was run up %o fifty ponies. Her face grew pale when sné saw that Wild Horse was determined to get her, as \e he is known as the most desperate savage on reservation. §\ when drunk or angered It 18 said that he has killed three wives when drunk. Wild Horse, however, won the young squaw for sixty-three ponies. The stock was turned over to Parker, and & medicine man married Wild Horse and the squaw according to the Comanche rites. The couple then went to El Reno, Wwhere a regular marriage license was is- sued to them and the ceremony repeated by a pale-face minister. Although the marriage took place only three days ago, a dispatch from Lawton says that she attempted to commit suicide after fafl- ing In an attempt to kill her new husband. Other young women objected quite a8 strongly as Miss Parker did to being auc- tioned off, but it did them no good what= ever. Big Bow went ahead with the sale until every one of them was sold. The lowest bid made for any of them was twenty ponigs. This was the price paid for a half-breed woman who had been married to a white man, but the latter having died, she reverted back to her parents again. In all over 1500 ponies changed hands in ‘the three days of the big bridal auction. Not for many years have the squaws com- manded such spirited bidding and big prices as in this latest event of its kind among the Comanches. — Chicago Inter Ocean. —_——————— Consumption of ice in Brazil is con= stantly increasing. This is due principally’ to the demand for ice in restaurants, ho- tels and other public places. - The Berlin City Mission, headed by A. Stocker, issues each week 108.000 sermons for those who cannot attend church, 20,000 of which are distributed in the city. The production of tobacco in the United States is now about 725,000,0% pounds, of which about one-half is consumed by our own people and one-half exported.